Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

You now have an excuse to skip cutting the grass every weekend — it’s beneficial for the bees. And mowing your lawn less often to provide native bees a better habitat won’t lead to an increase in disease-carrying ticks, experts say. When research ecologist Susannah Lerman began urging friends and colleagues to leave lawns a bit longer to help the bees, the “first thing people said was that letting the grass get longer would invite ticks,” she recalled. “It was clear that before we could make the case for promoting lawns as bee habitat, we had to understand the tick risk,” Lerman added. She and Vince D’Amico, a fellow USDA Forest Service research entomologist, studied whether less frequent mowing of 16 residential lawns in Springfield, Mass., over two summers could benefit native bees without increasing the risk of ticks. The researchers found 111 bee species on the lawns — about one-quarter of all known bee species in Massachusetts. They also dragged a cloth across the lawns in search of ticks. In 144 tick drags, done with grass at various heights and mowing frequencies, they failed to find a single blacklegged tick. Also called deer ticks, the insects can carry Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can make people seriously ill. The study was published online April 3 in the journal PLoS One. The researchers said… read on >

Breast cancer survivor Jessica Sidener is adamant that her illness brought real benefits to her life. “I am incredibly grateful for all of the hardships I’ve gone through in my young life, including my cancer journey,” said Sidener, 39, of Parker, Colo. “It makes you appreciate that life is short.” But Nancy Stordahl is just as convinced that her bout with breast cancer shouldn’t be viewed as an opportunity for personal growth. In fact, her cancer memoir is titled Cancer Was Not a Gift & It Didn’t Make Me a Better Person. “Cancer is a horrible disease, not an enlightenment program,” said Stordahl, who lives in Wisconsin and maintains a popular blog about breast cancer called Nancy’s Point. Both women have a legitimate viewpoint, based on new data from a long-term clinical trial. In the trial, breast cancer patients who underwent an intensive psychological program to help them better deal with their disease came away more likely to view their post-cancer life as positive, researchers found. After the program, these survivors had four times more positive than negative thoughts about changes they experienced because of their illness, the study found. The women typically felt better about their close relationships, they traveled more and took part in more spiritual activities, and felt that they’d gained a new sense of altruism and balance in life. “It’s a… read on >

Vitamin D is the healthy “sunshine” vitamin, but it can have a dark side, one Canadian man discovered. A team of Toronto physicians reported on the case of a 54-year-old man who developed kidney damage after taking extremely high doses of vitamin D. It’s a cautionary tale for consumers, medical experts say. “Although vitamin D toxicity is rare owing to a large therapeutic range, its widespread availability in various over-the-counter formulations may pose a substantial risk to uninformed patients,” said study co-author Dr. Bourne Auguste. He’s a clinical fellow in home dialysis at Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto. As reported April 8 in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the man was seen by doctors after he returned from a holiday in Southeast Asia, where he spent much of his time sunbathing. Vitamin D is naturally synthesized by the skin upon contact with sunlight. Testing showed that the man had elevated blood levels of creatinine, a marker for kidney damage or malfunction. The patient was then referred to a kidney specialist and underwent further testing. Doctors learned that the man had been prescribed high doses of vitamin D by a naturopath — even though he did not have vitamin D deficiency and no history of bone loss. Over 30 months, the man had taken eight to 12 drops of vitamin D —… read on >

Richard McIntosh hadn’t had any pets since his childhood farm dogs, but then he started a relationship with a competitive dog trainer and found his life filled with Golden Retrievers. Now McIntosh, 59, of Cornelius, Ore., can’t imagine growing old without a dog or two by his side. “There was a little something missing from my life,” McIntosh said. “These dogs give me activity, they give me joy, companionship. When I’m not feeling good, they’re there for me. When I am feeling great, we’re playing and running. I get a lot out of it.” According to a new poll, McIntosh is one of many aging pet owners who swear that their animal buddies help them better cope with the physical and mental issues that come with age. About 55% of U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 have a pet, and an overwhelming majority of them say that their pets bring a host of positive benefits to their lives, the new National Poll on Healthy Aging found. “Most people who have pets perceive that they are beneficial to their physical and emotional health,” said Mary Janevic. She is an assistant research scientist with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, who helped design the poll. The benefits of pet ownership for older folks included: Helping them enjoy life (88%) Making them feel loved (86%) Reducing… read on >

Eating habits and physical activity have a greater impact on weight-loss surgery’s long-term success than measures like counting calories, a new study finds. Researchers also found that evaluation of patients’ mental health and eating habits before weight-loss (bariatric) surgery did not help predict who would be successful in keeping weight off years afterwards. “Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity. It results in sustained weight reduction and remission of diabetes and other health problems in the majority of patients,” said study author Wendy King. She’s an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health. “However, as with all types of weight-loss interventions, patients usually regain at least some of the weight they initially lose,” she added in a university news release. The study included nearly 1,300 adults who had a type of weight-loss surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The patients were followed for an average of 6.6 years. Limiting sedentary behaviors (such as watching TV), self-weighing at least once a week, avoiding fast food, and correcting “problematic” eating behaviors were all factors associated with a greater chance of limiting weight gain after weight-loss surgery. Problematic behaviors included eating continuously, eating when full, loss of control and binge eating. Younger patients were likely to gain more weight than older ones. Other characteristics linked with higher weight regain included… read on >

Rates of prostate cancer cases and deaths have declined or stabilized in many countries. And the United States had the largest recent decrease in disease incidence, a new study says. “Previous studies have indicated significant variation in prostate cancer rates, due to factors including detection practices, availability of treatment, and genetic factors,” said study author MaryBeth Freeman. She’s a senior associate scientist for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. “By comparing rates from different countries, we can assess differences in detection practices and improvements in treatment,” Freeman said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Researchers examined long-term and short-term data from 44 countries with incidence data and 71 countries with prostate cancer death data. Of the 44 countries assessed for incidence, prostate cancer rates rose in four countries and fell in seven, with the United States with the biggest decrease. Rates remained stable in the other 33 countries. Of the 71 countries assessed for prostate cancer death rates, there were decreases in 14, increases in three, and no change in 54. As of 2012, prostate cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in 96 countries and the leading cause of death in 51 countries, according to the study. Freeman said the findings confirm the benefits of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. She noted that in the United… read on >

As electronic cigarettes took off, some worried they would lead teens back to traditional cigarettes. But new research suggests that’s not the case. Vaping has done little to slow or reverse a two-decade decline in the popularity of regular cigarettes among youth, a British study suggests. “Given the important contribution to public health which has been achieved by the ‘denormalization’ of smoking among young people, we need to keep a close eye on anything which might reverse that,” stressed study author Graham Moore. So, could vaping somehow make smoking “cool” again among youth? To find out, Moore’s team analyzed surveys conducted between 1998 and 2015 of roughly 248,000 English, Scottish and Welsh students, aged 13 to 15. The polls revealed that the percentage of teens who had ever tried a cigarette plummeted from 60% in 1998 to just 19% by 2015. The percentage of regular smokers also dropped, from 19% to 5%. That trend continued despite the advent of vaping earlier this decade, the investigators found. “From our conversations with young people, the fact that the rise in experimentation with e-cigarettes was not accompanied by a rise in smoking does make some sense,” added Moore, a reader in the school of social sciences at Cardiff University in Wales. Moore noted that today’s youth “tend to distinguish quite strongly” between smoking cigarettes and using e-cigarettes. For… read on >

Scientists are looking to an unexpected source in the battle against drug-resistant bacteria: fish slime. The researchers said that microbes in the protective mucus that coats young fish holds promise in fighting multidrug-resistant bacteria. These include the so-called “superbug” microbes that cause methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The slime protects fish from bacteria, fungi and viruses, trapping them before they can cause infections. It is also rich in compounds known to have antibacterial activity, the study authors said. The study was presented Sunday at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) meeting, in Orlando, Fla. Research presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. “For us, any microbe in the marine environment that could provide a new compound is worth exploring,” principal investigator Sandra Loesgen said in an ACS news release. Loesgen is an assistant professor of chemistry at Oregon State University, in Corvallis. Molly Austin, an undergraduate chemistry student in Loesgen’s laboratory, said that the mucus is fascinating because the environment in which fish live is complex. “They are in contact with their environment all the time with many pathogenic viruses,” Austin explained. The researchers are trying to determine if anything in the fish mucus could help protect people. The slime the investigators are studying is from juvenile deep-sea and surface-dwelling fish caught off the Southern California coast. Young fish… read on >

Men often have a hard time acknowledging erectile dysfunction, or ED. But it can leave their partner feeling confused or even blaming themselves for something not within their control. First, know that while the odds of ED rise after age 50, many men experience normal physical changes that are not ED. Erections may not be as firm as they once were, and it may take more foreplay to get one. It may help to have sex in the morning, when both partners are full of energy. True ED is not being able to get or maintain an erection, though this may not happen every time. It can be related to lifestyle habits such as smoking, heavy drinking or being overweight. Stopping harmful habits, losing weight and getting into a regular exercise program can be helpful. In middle age, ED can often be connected to a medical condition — such as diabetes, heart disease or Parkinson’s — and new or worsening ED may signal that the condition is getting worse. Erectile dysfunction can also be a side effect of some medications and cancer treatments. It’s also important to know that up to 25 percent men under 40 experience ED, often from a psychological issue, like performance anxiety or depression. But for some, it’s an early warning sign of heart disease. For all of these reasons, encourage… read on >